Anna Burch | Mon 7 May | Hare & Hounds | £7.70
Detroit singer-songwriter Anna Burch made a decisive break this year with her debut album, ‘Quit the Curse’ – maybe taking her own advice, by cutting from her sonic past and turning to a 60s-infused, fuzzily organic dream-pop style complete with guitar jangle and doo-wop harmonies. There’s a touch of the ever-underrated Charlotte Hatherley in its sonic twists and turns, but mostly Burch’s alt-rock style and deadpan delivery makes ‘Quit the Curse’ a thing entirely her own. seetickets.com

Goat Girl | Tue 8 May | Hare & Hounds | SOLD OUT
Rearranged from 16 April. Goat Girl are, if you haven’t heard, the post-punk band of the moment: a young South London quartet whose new, self-titled debut album is a 19-track sprawl of scuzzy disaffection, angst, and enough guitar gloom to sate any Cat Power devotee. If you were keen enough to grab tickets to this one, count yourself prescient – Goat Girl are fast on their way to hero status.

Shatner’s Bassoon | Tue 8 May | The Lamp Tavern
Try to imagine a Primus studio outtake with wild, Beefheart-style sax improvisation over the top, and you still probably wouldn’t conjure up the menacing, visceral weirdness of Shatner’s Bassoon’s latest EP, ‘Disco Erosion’. It’s an angular, evasive jazz-noise-fest that has to be heard – and seen – to be believed. www.facebook.com

!!! (Chk Chk Chk) | Wed 9 May | Hare & Hounds | £14.85
California dance-punk masters !!! have an enviable reputation as one of the freest, funkiest live acts on the planet, and the deep-pocket groove perfection of latest album ‘Shake the Shudder’ only fuels the fire that Nic Offer’s tiny shorts first ignited back in 1996. If you haven’t tuned in to their freaky frequency yet, a funk baptism at the Hare & Hounds is undoubtedly the way to do it. Tickets are low, so book fast. skiddle.com

Nap Eyes | Wed 9 May | Hare & Hounds | £8.80
The chilled-out Nova Scotia rockers Nap Eyes got real on this year’s record, ‘I’m Bad Now’ – mixing their country-style dream-pop and mellow slide-guitar with sly, cutting lyrics that dig into modern Western ennui with the blunt force of a shovel. It’s complex and wilfully confused, country-rock’s answer to Lou Reed fronting a charmingly rag-tag band. It takes skill to make it sound this easy. skiddle.com

Protomartyr | Wed 9 May | Mama Roux’s | £11
Post-punk art-rockers Protomartyr outdid themselves with last year’s ‘Relatives in Descent’ – but they’re already back with a new, Breeders-featuring single, ‘Wheel of Fortune’. Equally capable of a noise-rock onslaught, an orchestral surge, or a grungey slow-burn, the band shift gears with alarming ease underneath Joe Casey’s dead-eye croon: it’s the sound of sonic adventurers coming into their own. seetickets.com

B-SIDE Festival Welcome Jam | Fri 11 May | Birmingham Hippodrome | FREE
Check out the opening event for Brum’s excellent, free hip-hop festival B-SIDE: a Hit the Ode poetry jam brought to you by rap auteur Juice Aleem’s AFROFLUX, featuring poetry and music performances from artists who’ve been exploring Afrofuturism long before Black Panther made it mainstream. Completely free, and thoroughly underrated, get out to support Brum’s hip-hop scene across the whole festival. (Booking required). birminghamhippodrome.com

Jeru the Damaja | Sat 12 May | Hawker’s Yard | £15
The quintessential 90s hip-hop artist who barely needs introduction, Jeru the Damaja makes an unexpected appearance at the Hawker Yard, presented by Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul. The elusive wordsmith with the distinct, freaky flow has only surfaced from time to time over the last two decades – most recently to drop 2014’s ‘The Hammer’ EP. mostlyjazz.co.uk